Top Items:
New York Times:
Head of the U.S. Military's Southern Command Is Stepping Down, Officials Say — Adm. Alvin Holsey is leaving less than a year into his tenure, and as the Pentagon escalates attacks against boats in the Caribbean Sea. — The military commander overseeing the Pentagon's escalating attacks …
Discussion:
Associated Press, MSNBC, CNN, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner, The Guardian, Washington Post, UPI, CBS News, New York Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Wall Street Journal, RedState, BBC, NOTUS, Task & Purpose, The Hill, DefenseScoop, The Intercept, Politico, Axios, Raw Story, Bloomberg and Little Green Footballs
RELATED:
New York Times:
Trinidadian Family Says U.S. Military Killed Relative in Boat Attack — For the first time, one of the 27 people killed in U.S. airstrikes on suspected drug vessels has been publicly identified. — Chad Joseph, a 26-year-old from Trinidad and Tobago who had been living in Venezuela in recent months …
Discussion:
The Guardian, CBS News, Miami Herald, USA Today and Bloomberg
New Republic:
Trump Boat Bombings Take Darker Turn as Top Official Suddenly Resigns — The other day, President Trump announced that he has bombed yet another boat allegedly carrying drugs in the Caribbean sea. He has now struck six boats, with 27 people dead, and the bombings have been widely denounced as illegal.
Discussion:
ABC News
Reuters:
Exclusive: In a first, US strike in Caribbean leaves survivors, US official says — At least 27 people killed in U.S. strikes so far — Experts question whether U.S. strikes are legal — Unclear whether US rescued survivors, if now in US custody — Head of U.S. Southern Command resigns, stoking concerns
Marc Caputo / Axios:
Donald Trump: America First globalist
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times and The Transom
MSNBC:
Republicans' attacks on ‘No Kings’ protests reek of desperation — The GOP's fictional portrait is part of a strategy to stop the resistance before it flexes its growing power — By Jill Lawrence, author of “The Art of the Political Deal: How Congress Beat the Odds and Broke Through Gridlock”
Discussion:
The Guardian, NPR, The Dispatch and Popular Information
RELATED:
Garrett M. Graff / Doomsday Scenario:
Three Reasons I Still Have Hope for America — This weekend's “No Kings” rallies stand as an important corrective amid a dark moment … Saturday's national “No Kings” protests seem likely to be huge, and the Trump administration appears especially concerned and worried about the public backlash it's facing this weekend.
Kate Santaliz / Axios:
Exclusive: MTG slams parts of Trump's second-term agenda as “America Last”
Discussion:
Mediaite, Washington Post and New Jersey Online
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Trump's Very Own Basket of Deplorables
Trump's Very Own Basket of Deplorables
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Independent, New York Sun, MSNBC, Raw Story and Los Angeles Times
Heather Knight / New York Times:
Salesforce Offers Its Services to Boost Trump's Immigration Force
Salesforce Offers Its Services to Boost Trump's Immigration Force
Discussion:
Politico, FOX 11 Los Angeles, Fortune, Bloomberg and New York Post, more at Techmeme »
Corina Knoll / New York Times:
What We Know About the Latest ‘No Kings’ Protests
What We Know About the Latest ‘No Kings’ Protests
Discussion:
The Independent, The Guardian, masslive.com, LI Press, Mercury News, WFAA-TV and NOTUS
NBC News:
John Bolton surrenders to authorities after federal indictment — The former Trump national security adviser is making his initial court appearance on federal charges that allege he mishandled classified information. — WASHINGTON — John Bolton, who served as President Donald Trump's …
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Ex-Trump national security adviser Bolton charged with storing and sharing classified information
Reuters:
John Bolton, former Trump adviser, charged with sharing classified information
John Bolton, former Trump adviser, charged with sharing classified information
Discussion:
US Department of Justice, Straight Arrow News, CBS News, New York Times, Associated Press, NPR, MSNBC, Daily Caller News Foundation, NewsMax.com, Bloomberg, The Hill, The Guardian, All Rise News, Daily Kos, Raw Story, Al Jazeera, The Gateway Pundit, New York Sun, France 24, NewsNation, Christian Science Monitor, Washington Times, Democracy Docket, One America News Network, The Independent, New York Post, The Daily Caller, USA Today, HuffPost, Salon, IJR, ABC News, New York Daily News and Townhall
Andy Kroll / ProPublica:
The Shadow President — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published. — This story is exempt from ProPublica's Creative Commons license until Dec. 19, 2025. — On the afternoon of Feb. 12 …
Discussion:
New Republic
RELATED:
Christopher Hale / Letters from Leo:
NEW: Pope Leo Set To Break Up Opus Dei — Prefer A One-Time Gift? Donate Here — A report from InfoVaticana — a Spanish outlet with close Opus Dei ties — claims that Pope Leo XIV is on the verge of approving new statutes that would effectively dismantle Opus Dei as it exists today.
Discussion:
Crooks and Liars
AP-NORC:
Most see the federal shutdown as a problem and think there is plenty of blame to go around — Although the shutdown debate is focused on health care subsidies, 42% of Americans do not have an opinion about extending tax credits to those who purchase health care through the Affordable Care Act marketplace.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, Chicago Tribune, Associated Press, The Hill, NewsMax.com, Washington Post, Politico and ABC News
RELATED:
S.V. Date / HuffPost:
Trump To Hold Putin Summit In Budapest - Where Russia Promised Not To Invade Ukraine — Asked who chose Budapest given that history, top White House aides told HuffPost: “Your mom.” — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is touting another meeting with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin …
Discussion:
Reuters, The Hill, Bloomberg, CNN, El País, The Guardian, NPR, New York Sun, New York Times, twitchy.com, ABC News, NewsMax.com, RedState, Mediaite, Breitbart, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Japan Times, Washington Post, The Independent, France 24, Politico, UPI, Metro.co.uk, New York Post, Scripps News, New York Daily News, CBS News, Semafor, IJR and The American Conservative
RELATED:
Jeanna Smialek / New York Times:
How would Putin, who faces an international arrest warrant, get to Hungary to see Trump?
How would Putin, who faces an international arrest warrant, get to Hungary to see Trump?
Discussion:
Politico, The Hill, Reuters, WTOP News, NPR, BBC, Grabien, Al Jazeera, The Daily Signal, NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner, Washington Times, Semafor, Fox News, CBS News, CNBC, Associated Press, The Gateway Pundit and Straight Arrow News
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Thune to force Democrats to vote on paying the troops during the shutdown — Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) plans to force Democrats to vote next week on legislation to pay more than 1 million military service members during the government shutdown, doubling down on his strategy …
Discussion:
Politico, The Daily Caller, E&E News, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, The Daily Signal, Bloomberg, Forbes, CNBC and UPI
RELATED:
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
GOP senators worry about Trump, Hegseth shutdown moves
GOP senators worry about Trump, Hegseth shutdown moves
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and Raw Story
Jesse Zanger / CBS News:
Who won the NYC mayoral debate? What the candidates, and an expert, are saying — Andrew Cuomo, Zohran Mamdani and Curtis Sliwa were on the attack Thursday night in their first mayoral debate. — The took one another on across a host of issues including their plans to improve the cost …
RELATED:
Joseph Cox / 404 Media:
Hackers Dox Hundreds of DHS, ICE, FBI, and DOJ Officials — A group of hackers from the Com, a loose-knit community behind some of the most significant data breaches in recent years, have posted the names and personal information of hundreds of government officials, including people working …
Discussion:
New Republic and Fox News, more at Techmeme »
Alan Blinder / New York Times:
Universities Are Standing Up to Trump — A White House proposal for special funding treatment crossed a line for several schools. Some say it feels like a turning point in the federal government's battle with higher education. — The White House is confronting academia's most forceful pushback …
Discussion:
UPI, The American Spectator and The Dispatch
RELATED:
Asiana Guang / Daily Trojan:
USC rejects Trump's compact
USC rejects Trump's compact
Discussion:
Raw Story, Los Angeles Times, Washington Times, Orange County Register and The Hill
Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
Donald Trump's Dream Palace of Puffery — The Pentagon's ban on real journalism looks to be a preview of where the White House is headed. — Two weeks into a federal-government shutdown, with no end in sight and President Donald Trump threatening to fire thousands of government employees …
NOTUS:
Republican Frustration With Kristi Noem Has Reached a Boiling Point — Both publicly and privately, GOP lawmakers are frustrated with Noem's lack of communication and new rules that are delaying critical FEMA funds. — Copy — Members of Congress are growing incensed with Secretary …
Discussion:
New Republic and Raw Story
Paul Krugman:
America First? No, Billionaire Buddies First — Argentina: A very Trumpy debacle — The Trump administration is doing so many corrupt, destructive and simply stupid things that the failing attempt to rescue Javier Milei, Argentina's MAGAesque president, with billions of U.S. taxpayer dollars isn't even in the top 10.
Discussion:
Reason, Financial Times, The Hill and Semafor
G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:
Democrats up 6, 10 points in new averages of New Jersey and Virginia governor polls — Aggregators take note: We found that many polls in these contests are sponsored by or affiliated with GOP campaigns, increasing the potential bias of (unadjusted) polling averages — Two announcements before we get started:
LETTER FROM THE EDITORS:
LETTER FROM THE EDITORS: IU has now fully cut IDS print. What more is there to say? — Indiana University fully cut the Indiana Daily Student's print newspaper — including the special publications it had earlier indicated it wanted us to run — Tuesday evening, hours after firing its student media director.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Poynter and UPI, more at Mediagazer »
Lauren Dezenski / Bloomberg:
Trump Says Threatened High Tariffs on China ‘Not Sustainable’ — President Donald Trump said high threatened tariffs with China were not viable as tensions between the world's two largest economies intensify ahead of an expected face-to-face meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.
Discussion:
Reuters, Mercury News and Fox Business
Politico:
Trump unveils IVF policies, but no new funding or coverage requirements … The cost of EMD Serono's Gonal-F, a follicle-stimulating hormone injection commonly taken during a standard IVF cycle, will drop by anywhere between 42 and 79 percent in the cash-pay market, depending on the patient's income …
Discussion:
The White House, Washington Post, Mother Jones, The Post Millennial, Scripps News, One America News Network, France 24, New York Times, UPI, Al Jazeera, Raw Story, The Daily Signal, Roll Call, The Independent, Washington Examiner, New York Post, The 19th, Fox News, Associated Press, NOTUS, Bloomberg, STAT, The Daily Caller, Straight Arrow News, New Republic, ABC News, The Guardian, Palm Beach Post, Washington Times, The Hill, CBS News, The Gateway Pundit, NewsMax.com, New York Times and Axios
Gabrielle Fonrouge / CNBC:
Small businesses are being crushed by Trump's tariffs and economists say it's a warning for the economy … Viresh Varma can't sleep. — The CEO of AV Universal Corp., a small footwear company that sells through retailers like Macy's, Nordstrom and DSW, said he needed to take out a $250,000 loan …
Kevin T. Dugan / Wall Street Journal:
New York's Richest Ask ‘How Dare He?’ as Mamdani Closes In on City Hall — The city's 1% realize their influence is waning: 'It's hard to be chill and relaxed' — It was just after finishing a set of pelvic floor exercises that a Pilates instructor on the Upper East Side recently brought …
Samuel Benson / Politico:
GOP representative blames swastika flag in his office on a ‘ruse’ … In February, similar flags were delivered via the United States Postal Service “to multiple congressional offices,” a GOP Hill staffer, not from Taylor's office, told POLITICO. An image obtained by POLITICO …
Stephanie Armour / KFF Health News:
It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's a Chemtrail? New Conspiracy Theory Takes Wing at Kennedy's HHS — While plowing a wheat field in rural Washington state in the 1990s, William Wallace spotted a gray plane overhead that he believed was releasing chemicals to make him sick.
Discussion:
NOTUS and The Colorado Sun
Waging Nonviolence:
The resistance reaches into Trump country — As organizers for No Kings 2 seek historic turnout on Oct. 18, the broader pro-democracy movement has already broken new ground. — Created with Sketch. — In recent articles, we've shared our Crowd Counting Consortium data about the widespread protests …
Kate Santaliz / Axios:
Exclusive: MTG goes after Johnson again — this time over Cory Mills comments — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) accused Speaker Mike Johnson of “hypocrisy” for brushing off questions about a protective order issued against Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.).
Discussion:
Politico, Raw Story and LGBTQ Nation
Adam Wren / Politico:
What the DNC chair told us about 2025 — With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine, Ali Bianco and Rachel Umansky-Castro — Happy Friday. I'm Adam Wren. Get in touch. — ABOUT LAST NIGHT: In the New York City mayoral debate last night, which was (expertly) co-moderated …
Discussion:
The Hill
Jane C. Timm / NBC News:
Democrats eye Maryland and Illinois as Republicans press forward with redistricting push — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has held discussions with Maryland and Illinois Democrats about new maps as he vows to further respond to GOP efforts. — As Republicans across the country pursue …
Russell Contreras / Axios:
Exclusive: Trump immigration plan may wipe out 15M jobs by 2035, study claims — The Trump administration's immigration crackdown is projected to reduce the U.S. workforce by 6.8 million people by 2028 and by 15.7 million by 2035, per a study first shared with Axios.

